Liam Joseph Roberts (born 21 November 1994) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

Career

Walsall

Roberts began his career playing for Willenhall Town FC under manager Ian Boucher before joining Walsall's

youth academy In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

academy, to then go in to join

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

on a work experience loan on 4 December 2012. He was released by Walsall on 7 May 2014. However, Roberts subsequently re-signed for the club on 22 July 2014 as cover for Richard O'Donnell and Craig MacGillivray. Roberts was immediately sent out on loan to Rushall Olympic. His loan deal with the Pics was terminated early to allow him to join Rainworth Miners Welfare on 9 September 2014. Roberts then joined

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

side

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

on 27 November 2014, alongside teammate Amadou Bakayoko. After failing to make an appearance for Southport, Roberts enjoyed a successful spell with Gresley in the second half of the season after joining on 16 January 2015. Roberts made eighteen appearances for Gresley as they challenged for a play-off place in the

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

. He was handed a new one-year contract by Walsall on 5 June 2015. Roberts returned to Gresley on a three-month loan on 14 August 2015. He was recalled by Walsall in October, joining the matchday squad for the first time as an unused substitute in the Saddlers' victory over Burton on 10 October 2015. Six days later, Roberts joined

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

on a one-month loan. He made six appearances for the club before returning to Walsall. Roberts finally made his debut for Walsall on 6 February 2016 in a 3–0 home defeat against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

, following injuries to both

Neil Etheridge Neil Leonard Dula Etheridge (born 7 February 1990) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Thai League 1 club Buriram United F.C., Buriram United and captains the Phil ...

and Craig MacGillivray. In July 2016, after signing a new one-year contract with Walsall, he joined

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

on a season-long loan. He made 15 appearances in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, including a run of six consecutive clean sheets between September and October. Roberts finally established himself as Walsall's first-choice goalkeeper during the 2017–18 season, making 28 appearances in all competitions and being rewarded with a new two-and-a-half-year contract on 20 February 2018. He signed a new contract in November 2019.

Northampton Town

On 22 June 2021, Roberts signed for

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

for an undisclosed fee. He was named in the PFA League Two Team of the Year after keeping 20 clean sheets throughout the season. At the end of his contract, Roberts was offered a new deal by the club but declined and left as a free agent.

Middlesbrough

On 21 June 2022, Roberts signed for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on a two-year contract. On 18 July 2023, Roberts joined

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on a season-long loan. On 17 May 2024, Middlesbrough announced the player would be leaving in the summer once his contract had expired.

Millwall

On 22 July 2024, Roberts signed for Championship club

, following the unexpected death of Millwall's first team goalkeeper

Matija Sarkic Matija Sarkic ( cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Матија Шаркић, Matija Šarkić; 23 July 1997 – 15 June 2024) was a professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Born in England to a Br ...

. In an FA Cup fifth round tie at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on 1 March 2025, Roberts received a red card for a flying kick into the side of Jean-Philippe Mateta's head as he challenged for the ball outside the box, which caused Mateta to receive oxygen on the field before being hospitalised. Roberts' ban was then subsequently increased to six matches due to the violent nature of the challenge. Having been offered a new deal following the conclusion of the 2024–25 season, Roberts departed the club having been unable to reach an agreement.

Mansfield Town

On 11 June 2025, Roberts signed for League One club

on a two year deal.

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * EFL Golden Glove: League Two 2021–22 * Northampton Town Player of the Year: 2021–22 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: League Two 2021–22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Liam 1994 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Walsall F.C. players Romulus F.C. players Rushall Olympic F.C. players Rainworth Miners Welfare F.C. players Southport F.C. players Gresley Rovers F.C. players Rugby Town F.C. players Chester F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Footballers from Walsall Middlesbrough F.C. players Millwall F.C. players 21st-century English sportsmen